


Force Artifacts and Missteps

by ShadeCrawler



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27220051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeCrawler/pseuds/ShadeCrawler
Summary: Obi-Wan walks up on a battlefield with a Youngling in front of him wailing and men in white armour yelling at him to get down. The problem? Or one of many? Obi-Wan is a fourteen-year-old Padawan.
Relationships: Dooku & Obi-Wan Kenobi, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Ahsoka Tano
Comments: 26
Kudos: 332





	Force Artifacts and Missteps

**Author's Note:**

> I have been working on this for a while and yesterday, I looked at the 190 words fic that I had been abandoned and wrote 3235 more words in 24 hours XD. So, I really hope that you all like this.

The Togrutan youngling wouldn't stop crying.

Obi-Wan had tried everything he could to try and get the baby to calm down but absolutely nothing that he had tried so far had gotten her to calm down. He had given her the little water they had access to, wrapped her up in their ratty blanket, and even tried singing the lullaby that Obi-Wan remembered his Creche Master singing to him when he was the Togrutan's age. And still, the youngling kept crying. Not that Obi-Wan could really blame her. With the state that the Force was currently in, Obi-Wan really wanted to cry too.

"Shhh," Obi-Wan whispered, bouncing her a little. He was sitting on the small cot in their cell with the youngling curled against his chest, just below the collar around his neck that allowed him to feel the Force but not touch it. His head was aching and the emptiness that echoed in his mind made Obi-Wan want to start wailing himself. His training bond with Qui-Gon was gone and. . . and Obi-Wan didn't want to think about what that might mean. He really, really didn't. "Shhh, you have to be quiet, Youngling, you have to be." 

After a long, tense minute of more wailing, the Togrutan's tears slowly died down to sniffles, staring at Obi-Wan with large watery blue eyes. Obi-Wan smiled back, so relieved that the tears had stopped. "See," he said gently, wiping away a stray tear. "Everything is perfectly alright. My Master. . . My Master," he let out a shaky breath, remembering that his Master could very well be dead right now. "A Jedi will come to find us," he said instead, holding the Togrutan baby close. "I promise that they will, Youngling. They'll hear what happened and will come to find us." 

Though, Obi-Wan secretly wondered if they really would. He barely knew what had happened. One moment he had been on a Political mission with Qui-Gon and the next moment he was standing dumbly in the middle of a war ground with men in white armour screaming for him to get down while a Togrutan baby wailed on the ground with a Lightsaber laid in her lap. Obi-Wan had reacted on instinct, grabbing the Youngling and both of their Lightsabers, running far away from the battlegrounds. The Force had been screaming at him that something was wrong and to run, run away. The Force had been screaming at him almost as loud as the Force Wielder that had ran after him that felt like he was standing on the edge of a coin, on the edge of the two sides of the Force. It had made Obi-Wan run faster.

And, almost immediately, they had been surrounded by droids and Obi-Wan had had no choice but to hand over the two Lightsabers and come quietly. He had been shoved into a small cell with a crying Youngling and no protection against the screaming Force. And Obi-Wan had no idea what he was going to do. He was fourteen and as much as he had tried to let the feeling go, he was scared. He was so scared. He wanted to go back to the Temple, back to his Master and his friends. He wanted the Force to stop crying.

And suddenly, it did. Or, at least, Obi-Wan couldn't feel it as strongly because he was suddenly surrounded by such a familiar presence that he couldn't stop himself from jolting up. Hesitate hope rose in him. It wasn't the Jedi that Obi-Wan was wishing for but it was one that he knew and trusted.

"What in the name of Force is going on here," Dooku said lowly as he marched into the hall that Obi-Wan's cell was located. The two droids guarding it straightened but had no time to do anything, let alone raise their weapons, before Dooku had flicked his fingers and they had gone flying out of Obi-Wan's sight. "My GrandPadawan dropped into the middle of a battle that he had no business in and then leaving him in a cell with a Youngling. Really."

"Master Dooku," Obi-Wan gasped, scrambling to his feet and rushing to the cell door. He paused though, staring at Dooku with wide eyes. He felt. . . different. Like everything had felt since Obi-Wan had been dropped in the middle of that battle, the old Jedi felt darker. Not dark, not like Xanatos had felt. But darker. And the yellow eyes that stared back at him just confirmed that. "Master Dooku," he whispered, not taking another step closer. 

Dooku stared at him, his yellow eyes softening. "Obi-Wan. While it's good to see you, I apologize that it happened again like this. I told them to not touch that Force Damned artifact. But, what done is done." He flicked his fingers again and the cell door opened. "Walk with me."

". . . I don't think I want to," Obi-Wan said softly, taking a step back and holding the Youngling close to his chest. "I. . . I-"

"You have questions," Dooku said, cutting Obi-Wan off, arching an eyebrow. "And you'll get your answers. But do you really think that I'll give them to you here? No. We'll be going to my office where a plate of food waits for you and a bottle of Togruta milk is waiting for young Ahsoka. You come upstairs, listen to my explanation of what is happening, and then you'll use that brain that my former Master always brags about and make a decision on what to do next. Understand?"

At the mention of food, Obi-Wan's stomach growled loudly. How long had it been since he had eaten? How long had it been since the Youngling . . . Ahsoka had eaten? "You know her name," Obi-Wan asked softly, stepping forward cautiously. He swallowed, forcing himself to look Dooku in the eyes. "Did your Droids put us in these cells, Master Dooku?"

"Yes, and against my orders too," Dooku said dryly, impatiently gesturing Obi-Wan to follow who did so reluctantly. He had to move quickly to keep up with the. . . with the man who didn't feel like a Jedi anymore. "I told them to bring you to suitable rooms until I could come to see you. And her," he said, adding it on almost as an afterthought. "And instead, I come back from smoothing over problems that Skywalker had been causing since I took you into my custody and find you shoved in a dark little cell with a crying youngling." He sneered slightly. "I long for the days where I worked with people and droids with an ounce of wit."

Obi-Wan didn't know what to say to that, holding Ahsoka closely as he hurried after Dooku. He relaxed slightly as they walked through a door and entered a small, warm room with a desk and two chairs in front of it. There were no windows and the vents were small enough that Obi-Wan doubted that even he would be able to squeeze through them. And sitting on the desk was a plate full of Obi-Wan's favourite dish, an old Stewjoni recipe, and a large baby bottle full of milk.

"Give her to me," Dooku said, holding out his arms. He arched an eyebrow when Obi-Wan hesitated. "Do you think that I'm going to harm her, Obi-Wan? Someone needs to feed her while you eat. Or do you plan to let your dinner go cold?" 

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment, not answering Dooku's questions as he stared into Dooku's yellow eyes. ". . . I don't know, Master," he finally said softly. "Normally I'd say no, you'd never hurt a youngling. But everything is different. The Force is screaming and you. . . you don't follow the Light anymore."

". . . No. I don't. But that doesn't mean that I've abandoned my moral code," Dooku said cooly, crouching down so that he was on Obi-Wan's level. "I swear to you, Obi-Wan, on my honour, I will not harm young Ahsoka."

There was a long moment where Obi-Wan said nothing before he slowly passed Ahsoka over to Dooku. The Togruta fussed a little but stilled as Dooku straightened, staring up at the man with large blue eyes. Obi-Wan watched him closely as he picked up the bottle and Ahsoka eagerly began drinking from it. "Sit," Dooku said suddenly, making Obi-Wan jump. "Eat. I have a long tale to tell you and it's better that you hear it on a full stomach."

Obi-Wan reluctantly sat down in one of the chairs, watching Dooku closely as he walked around the desk and sat across from him. He picked up his fork but didn't start to eat "You mentioned someone named Skywalker," he said softly, sitting back in his chair. He sighed as Dooku didn't answer, looking between Obi-Wan and his plate of food pointedly. Obi-Wan pulled his plate closer to him and started to eat the food, subconsciously relaxing at the taste of food that reminded him of home. 

"You'll have to forgive me if I talk for a long time. It's been quite a long time since I've talked to a willing party that wasn't an idiot or a machine," he said cooly, glancing to the door where through it, Obi-Wan could hear the distant sounds of Droids marching through the halls. "And it is a very long story." Dooku sighed, sounding so tired and weary that it took Obi-Wan by surprise. What had happened that had made Dooku sound so tired? "First of all, I'm impressed that you managed to stay conscious all this time with that training bond of yours and Qui-Gon's torn out of your mind."

Obi-Wan faltered, his fork stopping halfway to his mouth. He slowly lowered his hand and asked softly, "He's dead, isn't he?" The feeling of pure grief that followed with Dooku's small incline of his head nearly overwhelmed Obi-Wan and he let out a shaky breath. "Oh," he whispered, not sure what to say. Qui-Gon had never been warm to him. He had been kind, yes. But never warm. But. . . he had still been Obi-Wan's Master. And now he was dead. Obi-Wan took a moment to gather his courage meeting Dooku's eyes and asking softly, "Did you kill him?"

Dooku's eyes narrowed and he said cooly, "You think I would kill my own Padawan?"

"I don't think so," Obi-Wan said softly, forcing himself to not look away and to try and match Dooku's cool tone and not have his voice shake. "The Master Dooku I know wouldn't. But the Master Dooku I knew didn't have yellow eyes."

There was a long and tense pause. "Yes," Dooku finally said softly. "I suppose that he didn't. But, as I said, there have been many changes throughout the years."

Obi-Wan leaned forward. "Throughout the years," he echoed, eyes widened as the truth hit him.

"Yes. Though, this is not time travel or any foolish thing as that," Dooku said with a sneer. "I suppose that your current form is my fault. You see, Obi-Wan, the Obi-Wan that I know isn't fourteen but thirty-five. There was an incident in the battle,"

"I was fighting in a battle?! But Jedi aren't soldiers!" Obi-Wan shied back at Dooku's cool stare. "I apologize for interrupting, Master Dooku."

Dooku just hummed, shifting Ahsoka in his arms as she continued to drink her dinner. Obi-Wan had to push back his amusement at the odd sight of Master Dooku of all people holding a baby. "As I said, there was an incident. I had sent droids to go collect an old Force Artifact with strict directions not to open it. I should've known that they would mess up," he spat, his dislike of Droids shining through. "And you and your GrandPadawan were caught in the blast."

So many thoughts ran through Obi-Wan's head but one word stuck. "GrandPadawan," he repeated, leaning forward. "But. . . you said I was only thirty-five. That's way too young for a GrandPadawan."

"And yet you had one. Because of my Padawan's arrogance and foolishness," Dooku said with a scowl. He pulled the bottle away from Ahsoka and shifted her in his arms to burp her, nodding in approval at the small burp that followed. "You see, Obi-Wan, this entire tale starts many years ago on the planet of Tatooine."

And for over an hour, Obi-Wan listened to the tale of his Master finding a young Slave boy with overwhelming access to the Force, how his Master and he had saved the boy - but not the boy's mother for lack of funds all reasons?! - and how his Master had discarded Obi-Wan for another.

"He . . . he repudiated me," Obi-Wan asked, staring at Dooku with wide eyes. "For. . . Just because he thought that this boy was the Chosen One?" He shook his head, trying to push the feelings of abandonment and confusion out of his mind and heart. This might not be true, a Dark Sider was telling him these things. It could all be lies.

But it didn't sound like lies. It didn't feel like lies.

"Yes, that's right," Dooku said gravely. He was standing now in front of the desk with a sleeping Ahsoka curled up in his arms. "And it was that Chosen One who set off the War that we are in now. Perhaps if Qui-Gon had allowed the boy to become something other than a Knight then we wouldn't be in this situation. But he insisted that the boy was the Chosen One and we had a boy with years of trauma trained."

Obi-Wan stared at Dooku in shock. "But, but the mind healers? Surely he had meetings with the mind healers? Was I that bad of a Knight that I didn't -"

Dooku cut him off with a stern look. "You had just faced a Sith and had seen your Master cut down in front of you while you were powerless to save him. You shouldn't have been knighted immediately after that. If Yoda had been smart, he would've given you to another Master until a Mind Healers said that you were ready to be a Knight. Instead, you were knighted and given a Padawan without the proper classes beforehand. From what I saw and heard, you did the best you could. You made mistakes, as all Masters do, but you everything you could." He sighed, shaking his head. "Perhaps if I had not been lost in grief as I had been I could've protested the Council's decision. But, there is nothing that can be done for things that are in the past."

Obi-Wan let out a shaky breath, overwhelmed by all of the thoughts and emotions running through his mind. He needed to think, he needed time to meditate and sort through his emotions. But, instead of asking for these things, he blurted out, "I need proof. You've told me all of these things but you could be lying and, and I need proof."

"And you'll have them," Dooku said with a firm nod. He suddenly stooped down, pushing Ahsoka in Obi-Wan's arms who promptly shifted her close to his chest. "It shouldn't be too hard to slice into the Temple's records and give you what you need."

". . . But you won't let me and Ahsoka go back to the Temple." Obi-Wan's suspicions were confirmed by Dooku's small nod. And yet, even though Obi-Wan was scared by this new Darkness surrounding Dooku. . . he couldn't help but relax a little at Dooku's nod. With how wrong the Force felt right now, the thought of leaving and having to feel the Force scream at full force without Dooku blocking most of it from him was terrifying.

"You'll stay here. At least until I've shown you the proof that you want. And I've still haven't finished the story of how we got here. How I fell from the Light and how a war erupted through the Galaxy. But that can wait until you've slept in a proper bed," Dooku said firmly, gesturing for Obi-Wan to stand and follow him. "I'll finish telling you the rest of the story tomorrow."

Obi-Wan nodded, tripping over his own feet as he hurried after Dooku. He suddenly felt exhausted and found it hard to even think, to the point that it was a surprise when they stopped in front of a door. "Thank you, Master Dooku," Obi-Wan said, bowing slightly and clumsily. He was so tired.

"It's Count Dooku," Dooku replied, though his face seemed to soften slightly. "Have a good sleep, Obi-Wan. You'll find a bassinet inside for your Grandpadawan. Just ask a Droid if you need anything." And with that, Dooku turned on his heel and walked down the hall and out of Obi-Wan's sight.

Obi-Wan walked inside, closing the door behind him with a tired sigh. So, he was a captive of his former GrandMaster who had turned Dark and was now waging war against the Jedi. And Master Qui-Gon was dead. Master Qui-Gon who had turned Obi-Wan away for another. Lovely. But he could barely think with how exhausted he was, his mind fuzzy as he laid Ahsoka down into the small, expensive bassinet. As he laid down in his bed, he thought how strange it was that Count Dooku would have a bassinet ready or how quickly Count Dooku had managed to produce a Stewjoni dish for Obi-Wan. Or why if Obi-Wan was a guest here, why was he wearing a Force Collar? And, especially, why had Count Dooku wanted that Force Artifact in the first place?

But, with how exhausted he was and how foggy his mind was, he couldn't stay awake much longer and within seconds, was fast asleep.

* * *

* * *

* * *

Dooku sipped at his tea, staring out of the base that he was currently holed up in and out at the army at his gate. Skywalker's clone army had surrounded him from all sides and how now laying siege to his base. Even from all the way from Skywalker's camp, Dooku could feel the Jedi's fury from his Master and Padawan being taken from it and determination to get them back. Not that it mattered, not really. Dooku's base was well enough defended that attacking now would be stupid. And, as it was Skywalker and not a smart Jedi who was laying siege to his base, Dooku already had a plan for escape for when Skywalker eventually made his move. 

This was a very delicate situation and it had grown much more complicated with every idiotic mistake that had happened with Dooku's plan. Dooku had supposed to have been there when Obi-Wan had been hit with the Force Artifact's blast and Padawan Tano had definitely not meant to be hit with the blast as well. Dooku had been distracted by a few mistakes by his _idiotic and moronic_ Droids and had returned to his base hours after Obi-Wan and Young Ahsoka had been shoved into a small cell. Which had just made his annoyance of all the mistakes made rise.

Though, Padawan Tano being caught in the blast could work in Dooku's favour, if he played this right. He remembered Qui-Gon once speaking about how good Obi-Wan was with initiates. Yes, this could definitely work for Dooku. Though, it had taken quite some time to find the Youngling some proper Togrutan milk for her to drink.

Of course, it wouldn't be long until the Sith Master learnt of Dooku's play and come to deal with Dooku directly. He would have to be smart from now on, thinking of each move carefully. He had done well up until now but he couldn't prove to be lax. With Obi-Wan by his side and able to be manipulated by Dooku to think and act as he wanted, Dooku would be able to defeat the Sith Master. 

Of course, there was always the Jedi to think of. Even though Dooku had washed his hands of the Jedi, a small part of him felt regret for the corrupt that was growing both inside and all around his old order. Perhaps once Dooku's plan had come to fruition, the Jedi would be able to regrow and regroup. Not that it truly mattered to Dooku. He had what he wanted. Obi-Wan was at his side and - though he hadn't planned for it - he also had another powerful member of his lineage with him. 

Things certainly could've gone much, much worse.


End file.
